Open Data supplied by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Bissett-Bermann 9040 Conductivity Temperature and Depth

The basic configuration of the B-B 9040 CTD incorporates pressure, temperature and conductivity sensors which could be logged digitally. This system also made it possible to derive other parameters, such as salinity, depth and sound velocity.

The instrument was versatile and it was possible to attach a dissolved oxygen sensor or to change the CTD housing, allowing it to obtain data from deeper layers in the water column. The accuracy for salinity is ±0.02 ppt , and ±0.02°C for temperature.

Introduction

Instrumentation

The instrument used was a Bissett Berman 9040 CTD system and the data were logged on a Hewlett Packard 9820 and stored in an integer format. Instrument lowering and raising speeds were between 0.5m/s and 1m/s. An acoustic pinger was placed above the CTD to give an accurate depth measurement, this could then be used to check the CTD pressure calibration. An NIO bottle with reversing thermometers was placed above the pinger, within 2m of the CTD system. A bottle sample was taken at the bottom of the cast providing the temperature and salinity are uniform at that point. If large temperature or salinity gradients were present then the bottle sample was triggered at a suitable site on the upcast. A surface salinity sample was also taken at the start of the dip.

Calibration

The CTD was not calibrated in the laboratory. The manufacturer's calibration was used and water samples taken to check the calibration and apply corrections where necessary.

Temperature

The manufacturer's calibration was used to convert the raw data to physical units using the equation below:

Temperature (°C) = (10 6 /Pt -2238.68/55.84) where Pt is the temperature period in microseconds

These values were then plotted against the water bottle (i.e. reversing thermometer) temperatures and a regression line fitted to the data such that:

Temperature(WB) = m x Temperature(CTD) + c

Then the regression coefficients (m and c) were applied to correct the CTD temperature data - these are given in the table below.

Conductivity

The manufacturer's calibration was used to convert the raw data to physical units using the equation below:

The water bottle salinities and corrected CTD temperatures were used to calculate the water bottle conductivity values. These values were then plotted against the CTD conductivities and a regression line fitted to the data such that:

Conductivity(WB) = m x Conductivity(CTD) + c

Then the regression coefficients were applied to correct the CTD conductivity data - these are given in the table below.

Pressure

The depths from the acoustic pinger were noted where the bottle samples were taken and then used to check the calibration of the pressure sensor - unless calibration values were available from the reversing thermometers. The equation below was used to convert the pressure period to physical units.

Pressure = (10 6 /Pd - 9712)/0.26267 where Pd is the pressure period in microseconds

A regression fit was carried out using the calibration values and the slope and intercept determined. The pressure values could then be corrected using:

Pressure (CORR) = m x Pressure(CTD) + c

The fit of the CTD data to the water bottle calibration data is given in the table below:

Variable

Slope (m)

Intercept (c)

Standard Deviation

Temperature (°C)

1.0045

0.0028

0.006

Conductivity (mmho/cm)

1.0000

0.0055

0.015

Pressure (dbar)

1.0059

-5.3221

4.984

Data Processing

Obvious wild points were edited out of the calibration file and the calibration programs run to obtain values for the slopes and intercepts for temperature, pressure and conductivity. These were then applied to the uncalibrated data. Conductivities were converted to conductivity ratios and then converted to salinities using UNESCO recommended routines and sigma-t was calculated. The data values were then sieved to ensure a minimum separation between pressure values of 1 dbar. The data were then visually inspected and major spikes flagged.

Fixed Station Information

Station Name

DML Line HD

Category

Offshore route/traverse

DML Line HD

Line HD is a survey section crossing the Sea of the Hebrides, between Loch Boisdale (South Uist, Scotland) and Loch Moidart on the west coast of Scotland (to the south east of the Isles of Eigg and Muck). The line comprises nine fixed STD/CTD stations, which were established as part of routine monitoring work on the Scottish continental shelf by Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory (DML). The line was occupied in the mid 1970s to early 1990s.

Fixed Station Information

Station Name

DML Line HD Station HD1

Category

Offshore location

Latitude

57° 8.30' N

Longitude

7° 11.00' W

Water depth below MSL

106.0 m

DML Station HD1

Station HD1 is one of nine fixed STD/CTD stations crossing the Sea of the Hebrides, between South Uist and the west coast of Scotland. The station was established by scientists at Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory (DML).

Fixed Station Information

Station Name

DML Sea of the Hebrides STD/CTD Sections

Category

Offshore area

Latitude

56° 57.39' N

Longitude

6° 47.91' W

Water depth below MSL

DML Sea of the Hebrides STD/CTD Sections

The Sea of the Hebrides lies between the southernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides and, to the east, the northern Inner Hebridean islands and Scottish mainland. This area of the shelf has been surveyed since the mid 1970s by numerous research and government institutes. The region contains many repeated hydrographic stations, which collectively form transects. These repeated survey transects form part of a greater network of similar sections on the western Scottish continental shelf, which were established by Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory (DML).

Map of standard Sea of the Hebrides STD/CTD Stations

Map produced using the GEBCO Digital Atlas.

The triangles and squares indicate the nominal positions of individual Line HD and HE stations respectively. Measurements made at repeated Sea of the Hebrides STD/CTD stations lie within a box bounded by co-ordinates 56.6° N, 7.664° W at the south west corner and 57.313° N, 5.933° W at the north east corner.

Several repeated hydrographic stations on the Ellett Line/Extended Ellett Line occupy the southern area of the Sea of the Hebrides. Further information about these survey transects are summarised here.